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What Core Compliance Operation Points Should Be Mastered in the Whole Process of Original Imported Health Supplement Agency?
or complex compliance issues.
clearance and fund security.
I am a small and medium-sized health supplement dealer in China. I just obtained the exclusive agency authorization for original imported fish oil and glucosamine from a well-known Australian brand last month.
I originally planned to distribute the first batch of 1200 boxes to offline chain supermarkets before the Mid-Autumn Festival to boost holiday sales, but I have never been exposed to the import agency process before and am completely confused now. I heard that incomplete documents for imported health supplements can easily lead to customs detention and port congestion, which will not only make me miss the sales peak season but also require me to pay penalty to the brand owner.
Besides, customs has recently tightened the inspection of health supplement ingredients, I don't know how to control costs such as taxes and logistics fees, I am afraid that miscalculation will eat up the already limited profit. I am so anxious that I can't sleep, I just want to ask how to successfully complete the agency of this batch of original imported health supplements?
Evelyn LiYears of service：3Customer Rating：5.0
Cross-border Compliance SupervisorStart a Chat
First of all，for the details of pre-document review，it is necessary to focus on verifying the Import Health Food Record Certificate (or registration certificate)，certificate of origin，health certificate，and recordal of Chinese and English product labels provided by overseas manufacturers，to ensure that the product name，specification and ingredients on the certificates are completely consistent with the actual goods. Special attention should be paid that the efficacy description on the label shall not exceed the recorded range，so as to avoid triggering customs valuation or inspection risks due to inconsistent publicity.
In terms of connection of core nodes，it is necessary to complete pre-entry of customs declaration 72 hours before cargo shipment，submit documents through the Customs Single Window simultaneously，and confirm the shipment/flight information with the logistics provider，to complete inspection and customs declaration within 12 hours after arrival at the port，avoiding port demurrage charges. Meanwhile，communicate with the port inspection and quarantine department in advance，make an appointment for sampling and testing period，shorten the testing cycle，and complete customs clearance before the Mid-Autumn Festival.
In terms of contingency plans，if there is document inconsistency or unqualified sampling test results，start the supplementary process of backup documents immediately，or coordinate with overseas manufacturers to issue an authoritative ingredient explanation letter，if the cargo is detained by customs，immediately entrust a professional agency team to submit an objection application，and coordinate with the port regulatory warehouse to store the goods temporarily，so as to reduce container detention cost.
In the final compliance implementation stage，all documents，customs declaration forms and test reports must be retained for at least 5 years，to ensure that compliance basis can be provided quickly when the market regulatory authority conducts inspection in the future. At the same time，complete foreign exchange payment verification for imported goods，and realize a full-link compliance closed loop.
Eric ZhouYears of service：6Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Manager of Foreign Exchange & Tax RebatesStart a Chat
When declaring original imported health supplements to customs, it is necessary to focus on the closed-loop logic of the customs valuation link: customs will conduct valuation with reference to the import declaration price and international market price of products of the same brand and specification in the past 3 months. If the declared price is lower than the reasonable range, price questioning will be triggered.
At this time, it is necessary to provide supporting materials such as ex-factory price invoices from overseas manufacturers, payment certificates, and brand authorization agreements, so as to avoid deleting the declaration and re-submitting due to valuation disputes. In addition, if the product contains ingredients from endangered animals and plants, an additional permit from the Endangered Species Import and Export Management Office must be provided, otherwise the cargo will be directly detained by customs.
Meanwhile, the "commodity code" on the customs declaration must strictly correspond to the accurate code for health supplements in the Import and Export Tariff. Wrong code will lead to wrong application of tax rate and trigger subsequent tax inspection risks.
Jason WuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
International Logistics & Supply Chain ManagerStart a Chat
For the logistics route of original imported health supplements, direct route should be selected preferentially to avoid the risk of cargo title transfer and cargo damage during transit. If transit is unavoidable, a qualified transit port should be selected, and the logistics provider shall be required to issue a full journey bill of lading to clarify the ownership of the cargo title. After the cargo arrives at the port, it is necessary to check the cargo description, quantity and weight on the bill of lading to confirm consistency with the actual cargo in time, especially check the authenticity of the container seal.
If the seal is damaged, take photos for record immediately and require the logistics provider to issue a situation statement. In addition, it is necessary to confirm the free storage period of the port warehouse in advance. The free storage period of most general ports is 7 days. If the storage period exceeds, an extension should be applied in advance to avoid high container detention charges. For health supplements transported by cold chain, the logistics provider shall be required to provide full-course temperature monitoring records to ensure that the product quality meets the standards.
Linda GaoYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0
Documentation SupervisorStart a Chat
Original imported health supplement agencies can revitalize working capital through VAT deferral. Eligible enterprises can apply for deferred payment of import value-added tax, there is no need to pay the full amount of import VAT when the cargo arrives at the port, instead, tax declaration is made within the declaration period of the next month. In addition, if the country where the overseas manufacturer is located has signed a free trade agreement with China, the agreement tariff rate can be enjoyed with a valid certificate of origin, reducing tariff costs.
Meanwhile, the pricing of cross-border related party transactions must comply with the arm's length principle, so as to avoid transfer pricing investigations initiated by tax authorities due to underpricing or overpricing. In addition, the VAT input tax in the domestic sales link can be deducted by virtue of the special import VAT payment letter, it is necessary to ensure that the content of the payment letter is consistent with the information on the customs declaration, so as to avoid the risk of being unable to deduct.
Daniel XuYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0
Director of Import & Export OperationsStart a Chat
Cross-border payment and receipt of foreign exchange for original imported health supplements must strictly comply with foreign exchange management regulations. When making foreign exchange payment, documents such as import customs declaration, trade contract and invoice must be provided to ensure that the payment amount is consistent with the duty-paid price on the customs declaration.
If cross-border RMB payment is adopted, settlement can be carried out through the CIPS system, which is more efficient and lower cost than the SWIFT system. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the use specifications of offshore accounts.
If foreign exchange is received and paid through an offshore account, all transaction vouchers must be retained for at least 5 years, so as to avoid account freezing due to failure to provide materials during foreign exchange verification. At the same time, the transaction background must be truthfully declared when settling foreign exchange, and it is not allowed to settle foreign exchange by fabricating trade background, otherwise it will trigger penalties from the foreign exchange management department.
Kevin LinYears of service：4Customer Rating：5.0
Trade Solutions ManagerStart a Chat
A standard agency agreement must be signed for original imported health supplement agency, to clarify the rights and obligations of both parties, especially the time node for document provision, cargo quality standards, liability for breach of contract and other clauses. If brand authorization is involved, it is necessary to ensure the validity of the authorization agreement, and clarify the authorization scope, term and region, so as to avoid intellectual property disputes caused by unclear authorization.
In addition, when settling by letter of credit, the clauses must be carefully reviewed to avoid soft clauses, such as "payment can only be made after the buyer issues the cargo inspection qualification certificate", such clauses will cause the seller unable to control the payment rhythm. Meanwhile, it is necessary to complete the recordal of intellectual property customs protection to prevent counterfeit import of the overseas manufacturer's brand.
Lucas LiuYears of service：8Customer Rating：5.0
Senior Operations ConsultantStart a Chat
After the original imported health supplements arrive at the port, if you receive the customs inspection notice, you must check whether the cargo information on the notice is consistent with the actual cargo as soon as possible, and prepare documents, label recordals and other materials in advance. During on-site devanning inspection, you must cooperate with customs officers to check the name, specification and ingredients of the cargo one by one, to avoid inconsistency with the documents. When passing through the machine inspection, if an abnormal image is found, you must take the initiative to explain the ingredients and packaging of the cargo to the customs officer, so as to avoid triggering manual devanning due to misunderstanding.
If inspection and identification are required, you must cooperate with the inspection and quarantine department to take samples, and ask for a sampling certificate at the same time, to ensure that the sample source is traceable. After the test report is issued, you must carefully check whether the ingredient content on the report is consistent with the record certificate. If there is any discrepancy, immediately coordinate with the overseas manufacturer to issue a statement or apply for re-inspection.